The Hugo Award-winning novel Ender's Game, now available as an audiobook, is the first book in a popular series that follows the eponymous Ender, his brother Peter and sister Valentine, as well as a number of other characters in a sprawling and intriguing story that spans thousands of years. While we won't try to determine which is best, Ender's Game is likely the best known of the series, and for good reason. Once you hear it, you won't soon forget it.

Ender's Game follows Ender Wiggin, the youngest of three children, born by special government decree because most families are not allowed more than two children. For some time, Earth has been at war with the Formics, a bug-like alien species that said 'hi' to humanity by killing thousands. The military hopes that Ender will be the great military leader to defeat the Formics once and for all. While he is still quite young, they send him to Battle School, an intense training program that molds him into a soldier, tactician, and leader.

All of this training eventually leads Ender to his final test, a massive battle simulation which will have lasting consequences for him, for humanity, and for the Formics. Fans of The Hunger Games will recognize some of the themes in Ender's Game, though they are very different books. The story is intense, unsparing, and always gripping.

Orson Scott Card is an American science fiction writer. Besides Ender's Game and its sequels, he has written a number of other science fiction series and standalone novels. A well-known figure in the world of science fiction and fantasy, he initially conceived of Ender's Game as a short story, later transforming it into a novel.

In order
to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack,
government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A
brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant
parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone
else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the
soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut, so young Ender is the Wiggin
drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender’s
skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where
children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial
community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from
his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the
alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is
becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of
devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender
the general Earth needs?

Ender is not the only result of the genetic
experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and
the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender’s
two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is but in very different
ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the
world survives, that is.

“A powerful book about war, that ranges in topic from reflex-training video games to combat between our inner-and other-directed selves.”

Christian Science Monitor

“Layers fold with immaculate timing, transforming an almost juvenile adventure into a tragic tale of the destruction.”

Houston Post

“Card’s phenomenal emotional depth comes through in the
quiet, carefully paced speech of each performer. No narrator tries overmuch to
create separate character voices, though each is clearly discernible, and the
understated delivery will draw in listeners. In particular, Rudnicki, with his
lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender’s inner struggle
between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions
he is frequently forced to take. This is a wonderful way to experience Card’s
best-known and most celebrated work, both for longtime fans and for newcomers.”

Publishers Weekly (audio review)

“This audio version was created in celebration of the
twentieth anniversary of the novel, and it’s a gem. The audiobook is narrated
by a full cast. Stefan Rudniki is particularly good as Ender.”

School Library Journal (starred audio review)

“Superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power.”

Booklist

Among longlisted titles for ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 1985

A USA Today Bestseller

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel

Winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel

Among longlisted titles for ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2015

Winner of Hugo Award - Winner, 1986

A Washington Post Bestseller

Winner of Nebula Awards - Winner, 1985

Listener Opinions

Screwfist | 1/29/2017

" I get something new out of this book every time I read it. Obviously a great classic. "

Matthew | 4/3/2016

" "Ender's Game" is one of the science fiction classics and should be required reading for every high school and re-reading for every adult. It tells the story of Ender Wiggim, a boy genius who grew up in a world at war and gripped in its subsequent fear. It is about strategy, ambition, and the potentially inhuman decisions made during a (fictional) war by one child who could tilt history.
If you watched the film and thought that was the whole story, an injustice was done. The book tells the minutiae that no film has successfully covered. It tells the whole story and highlights the genius of character of Ender. "

Lori Keeton | 2/7/2014

" 4 1/2 **** Fantastically written. Kept me captivated all the way through until the end. I wanted to give 5 stars but I wasn't crazy about the ending. Otherwise, great read! "

Ginny | 2/1/2014

" Yuck. Interesting story, but ultimately I got sick of all the crudeness, cussing and endless comments about male genitalia (no, I'm not kidding). Why does everyone pretend like this is such a great book?? Even though it is a creative story, I don't feel like I could ever recommend it to anyone. "

Mari | 2/1/2014

" Ive read this several times and never tire of it. Follow this book with "Enders Shadow" and you"ll get an awesome view of the same story through the eyes of a great character named Bean. "

Laz the Sailor | 1/14/2014

" Well, it's not the greatest book of its generation, but it's pretty good. "

Jeff | 1/6/2014

" It was an interesting read. Very cutting edge (for then) battle tactics and futuristic video games. A little bit mentioned about the nature/nurture of man thrown into the mix, but it was just kind of boring for me the way it ended. "

Kristin | 1/5/2014

" The writing style was great, however, I had a hard time picking the book up once I put it down. I also had a hard time with the mind game issue in the book, especially when it involved someone so young. "

Suzy Kue | 12/18/2013

" It was an amazingly thought-provoking book. It's observations into human psychology and its exploitation of emotions is dark but very real. It's main character, Ender is portrayed brilliantly. Hard to out the book down. Hope to get my kids to read it some day. "

" WOW... just WOW... I just couldn't stop reading it. Some stuff was a bit too much but nevertheless, it got me hooked "

Jennifer Cyr | 6/16/2013

" To date, one of my favourite books for character development. "

Johnny Sze | 9/2/2012

" Card is definitely one of my favorite authors. His books touch so many different political science topics and is much deeper than the simple story might suggest. Also they are filming the movie to be released 2013! "

Jasmine DR | 6/2/2012

" I've been reading a lot of dystopian YA novels but this is probably the first one I've read through a boy's perspective. It's interesting to read through the inner workings of a boy and how he coped with his situation in comparison to how girls might react. "

Jeannie | 10/8/2011

" Wow, I didn't expect that ending! I loved it! "

Gerrie Du toit | 10/4/2011

" Obvious why this became a classic so fast. "

Shauna | 6/22/2011

" I loved this book, I was genuinely surprised near the end, it totally got me! I would highly recommend this book. It's not something I'd normally read but I'll definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series. "

Benjamin | 4/12/2010

" Yes, I finished Ender's Game in three days. I kept reading it every break I got. What a great SF novel, a reminder of the kind of SF that I loved so much. "

Megan Speer | 2/11/2008

" The writing is ordinary but the story is undeniable. Card is a great storyteller. "

Jinhee Spuhler | 9/29/2007

" This book was given to me by my 7th grade Honors English Teacher, Mrs. Lamb. I remember that moment with perfect clarity. I'd always enjoyed reading, but this specific book brought me into my LOVE for them. "

Richard | 9/29/2007

" Clean short sentences. Technology does not age. Great concept. Great story. Improved my understand of leadership. "

Ray Brienza | 9/20/2005

" I have read the Enders Game series 4 to 5 times. I really like the books and Orson Scott Card other books. "

Bubbles013 | 5/31/2004

" This bookis ok for a one time read but if you don't like future world ideas and kids killing eachother then noooot for you! "

Other Titles by Orson Scott Card:

About the Author

Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender’s Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.

About the Narrators

Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than three thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.

Harlan Ellison has written or edited more than 120 books and more than 1,700 stories, essays, and articles, as well as dozens of screenplays and teleplays. He has won numerous awards, including the Edgar Award, Hugo Award, an Audie Award for Best Solo Narration, and his fifth Nebula Award, breaking genre records. Ellison was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2006. He lives in California.

Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narration, has narrated over two hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.

Scott Brick, actor, narrator, and writer, attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks, from thrillers and science fiction to classics and nonfiction. He has recorded more than eight hundred audiobooks and won over fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.

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